1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of networking and more specifically to provide information over a cable modem network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a cable modem network, information is carried over a cable from a cable modem termination station (CMTS) to a plurality of cable modems (CMs). One issue which exists with transmission of this information is that various sources of noise (such as radio signals from ham radio operations and the like) may ingress into the cable modem channel. It is desirable to find a frequency for transmission of the information which is ingress-free.
One prior art solution is to utilize a spectrum analyzer to analyze the channels in order to determine a desirable frequency to use for transmission. Unfortunately use of a spectrum analyzer is a relatively manual and time-consuming process.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus allowing of analyzing channels for ingress in a cable modem plant or the like. It is further desirable that the method and apparatus be as automatic as possible requiring little if any operator intervention.
A multifrequency receiver comprising at least a first receiver circuit and a second receiver circuit where the second receiver circuit programmable to scan available frequencies of a received signal. In one embodiment, the second receiver circuit may determine that a new frequency should be used for transmission. In such an event, the transmitting devices may be instructed to start transmission at the new frequency. The second receive circuit is available to facilitate the change over. The invention is described in connection with a cable plant but may have application in any of a number of systems which allow for multifrequency transmission.